Joel Hughes

Waxing nostalgic about Toy Story

When the original Toy Story opened in 1995, everyone was dazzled. At that time, about the only place you could see three-dimensional animation was on video games at the mall, and Pixar appeared to have taken even that standard...

Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker is like Star Wars vs. Annie Hall

Just when you thought the 70's were over, along come the 2010 Academy Awards. What do I mean? In 1977, Star Wars blasted into theaters and forever changed the way that movies are made. Many sequels to this...

Longing to be closer to nature or thrillseeking?

The same voyeurism that makes people rent When Animals Attack videos will initially make you want to watch Grizzly Man. I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that the human main character of the film, Timothy Treadwell, meets...

The Haitian Movie Industry

This week's catatastrophe in Haiti has made me aware of just how little I know about many places around the world. As I've watched the video footage of the earthquake aftermath, I've felt not...

Now that Avatar has raised the bar, what now for DVDs?

Now that Avatar has raised the standard for visual effects in movies, I have to wonder what this means for DVD viewing at home. I've seen only a handful of movies that have captivated me so much...

Top movie of the decade?

With the year and decade drawing to a close, all sorts of lists are starting to pop up: the top 10 this, the best 10 that, and so on. I try to keep a level head about all of these...

Getting stalked was never this fun

'Tis the season of company holiday parties, when you, your boss, and your co-workers get very drunk in each other's presence and say things you otherwise would never have let fly from the tongue. It'...

Up, up, and away

As the now infamous homemade balloon was making its way across the skies of northern Denver suburbs, I happened to be passing by a television that was carrying the action live. Several other people had stopped to watch, and we...

See This Is It in theaters or wait for the DVD?

With the release of This Is It Wednesday, Michael Jackson fans as well as casual spectators are faced with the decision of whether to see the final big tribute to MJ in theaters, or wait for the DVD. Not long...

Tomorrow's on the way

If you're like 90% of metro Denverites, you spent the last 24 hours cooped inside waiting for a break in the weather so you could go somewhere to release your pent up cabin fever. As a kid, I...

Currently in Los Angeles